Washington - The Consumer Federation of America and the Consumers Union have petitioned the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create a "do not track" list of consumers who do not want online advertisers from collecting information about them without their consent, Reuters reported.

The two groups spoke specifically about the collection of health-related information on consumers; child advocacy groups have also asked the FTC to prohibit advertisers from collecting information from anyone under 18.

For their part, advertisers have said that they would prefer industry self-regulation to any government intervention into Internet advertising practices.

"Self-policing schemes are not enough to protect consumers' privacy and offer no enforcement against improper behavior," Chris Murray, senior counsel for Consumers Union, told Reuters.

"While companies like Google are trying to put pretty good practices in place, we don't want to rely on the good graces of the companies because they might change their minds."

Related Links:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080416/tc_nm/internet_privacy_dc_3

http://www.consumersunion.org

http://www.consumerfed.org